


Things Can Never Be The Way They Were

by onoheiwa



Series: A Kiss is Worth a Thousand Words [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Related, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, POV Dean Winchester, POV Sam Winchester, S1 E15, S1 E16, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 11:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3247178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onoheiwa/pseuds/onoheiwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam is in love with Dean. Dean is in love with Sam. The problem is that neither knows that about the other and both are too afraid to make a move, both believing the other would be repelled at the very thought of something MORE. It takes Sam getting separated from his brother, takes the threat of real and permanent separation from each other for them to finally admit that they're brothers but that's not all they feel for each other. </p><p>Starts during S1 E15 when Sam gets kidnapped by those freaky people who hunt other people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Can Never Be The Way They Were

**Author's Note:**

> This is not my first fic, just the first one for this fandom and its the first of a series. I am hoping there will be quite a few of these in the coming weeks, just short little fics that you can read in a few minutes. Most Wincest fics either seem like small novels or entirely focused on sex. These brothers need more fluff! 
> 
> Plus I just wanted to write about the moments that I had wished happened in the show. So here's the first of them!

Dean had not been this worried, this scared, since the night of the fire. Dad missing, that was worrisome. Sam being alone at school with no one to protect him, that freaked Dean out. But right now he was actually freaking out. Dean hadn't been in that bar's bathroom for more than ten minutes, it couldn't have been longer than that, but by the time he made it outside there was no sign that Sam had even gotten out the door. No one had seen him, no one had heard anything weird. He was just... gone and Dean was so scared he could hardly think clearly enough to figure out what to do next.

 

Which may have been why he had gone to the police rather than sneaking in and checking the security cameras on his own. He was just so damn worried - sweaty palms, twitchy fingers, his legs wouldn't stop shifting.

 

He needed to  _find Sam_. It kept running through his head like a mantra.  _Find Sam. Find Sam. Sam, find Sam. Sam. Sam. SAM._  

 

He shouldn't be alone out there. Dean needed to be there, needed to protect his little brother. If there was more to it than that, if it felt like his heart would shrivel up and die in his chest cavity if something happened to Sam, if sometimes Dean thought he would literally die if Sam died, well... no one needed to know just how bad he had it. 

 

Dean had figured out years ago that what he felt for his brother was not entirely familial. It had been the night of the fight between Sam and their father, the night Dad had told Sam that if he left he couldn't come back. At those words Dean had felt so devastated he had almost dropped to his knees.  _No Sam?_ It was one thing to deal with the idea of Sam going off to school, maybe getting married, a job, never coming back to hunt, but Dean would still get to see him. Could go visit, Sam could meet them places, maybe even join in on a more difficult hunt from time to time. 

 

But Dean knew his father. He knew that if Dad sent Sam away he meant it. He wouldn't accept Sam back just for casual visits. Sam would have to give up his "normal life" and come back to them, back to the way things were before. And Dean knew his brother and he knew Sam would never do that, even if only out of sheer stubbornness. Just to prove that he could. 

 

And Dean couldn't handle that, couldn't handle Sammy not being around. Because that's who he was - his Sammy, his little brother, the brother he needed to protect and take care of. And the thought that he wouldn't be able to do that anymore, because Sam wouldn't be able to come back? Well, suddenly Dean realized he couldn't live that way. He  _needed_ Sam, needed him like he needed air, like he needed food. He had panicked so badly he couldn't even move, couldn't speak the words he needed to say.  _Please Sam! Don't go! Stay. Just stay. You can't leave me._  

 

But he couldn't speak, could hardly even breathe. He had just stood there, looking at Sam with pleading and desperate eyes, begging him silently to stay. But Sam hadn't even looked at him, just glared steadily at their father, gauging his seriousness, then leaned down, picked up his duffle bag and walked out the door, slamming it tight behind him. Dad and he had stood there watching the door, maybe waiting, hoping, that Sam would come back, quietly open the door and slip in with his shoulders hunched murmuring apologies.

 

He didn't come back. And Dean spent the next two years lonely and aching, even with Dad around. And now he had finally gotten Sam back, had him near again. And maybe it wasn't all he was hoping it to be - he had been floored when he saw Jessica, felt an instantaneous flare of jealousy so powerful that he had a hard time being polite to the woman. He wanted Sam to himself and now he had to share, even now that she was dead he was still sharing Sammy. After all, it wasn't loyalty to Dean or love for their family that was motivating Sam, keeping him around. It was the drive to find Jess's killer. 

 

So it wasn't everything he wanted. But Dean had wanted  _more_ for so long knowing the whole time he couldn't possibly have it, that he could handle it. Sam wasn't even interested in guys, Jess proved that, let alone twisted enough to want his brother. Sam was  _good_. Dean... Dean was a mess and it wasn't much of a surprise that he could have such feelings for his brother, but he wasn't dumb enough to ruin it by saying something. Just having Sammy  _here_ , present, was enough, even if that meant he had to hear Sam screaming his girlfriend's name during his nightmares or bringing her up every time they talked about what to do next about finding Dad and finding the demon. It was enough just to have Sam there every day. Dean  _wanted_ more, wanted it badly, but he had lived this long without it and he would live the rest of his life without it if Sam never wanted more. 

 

But right now Sam wasn't here, he was missing, possibly even dea- 

 

 _No! He's not. I'll find him, he'll be alright_. 

 

With the help of Deputy Kathleen Hudak they had found the house where Sam had been taken. Dean's relief at finding his brother alive and unhurt had been so strong his breath had stuttered in his lungs. The next couple of hours had been dark and disturbing, searching the rundown residence for the keys, facing the truly insane family in their disgusting home, seeing all the pieces of human bodies scattered around the home in various states of decay. When Dean walked back out into the yard with Sam at his side he was pretty certain he would never miss a place less. 

 

Now the two of them were walking through the dark on the long way back to town and back to the Impala so they could get out of the area before the police came looking for them. Dean found himself unable to keep his mouth shut. 

 

"Never do that again." 

 

"Do what?" Sam sounded a little miffed. 

 

"Go missing like that." He said it begrudgingly, knowing Sam was going to give him crap for it. He'd told Sam off before about the "chick flick" moments. The Winchesters didn't do this kind of stuff, but Dean couldn't stay silent this time. He needed to make sure that Sam knew damn well how much his disappearance had scared Dean, that he couldn't just leave Dean like that. 

 

"You were worried about me." There was a grin on his face, even a little surprise. Maybe not that Dean had been worried but that he had admitted it. 

 

 _Yeah. I was. I was terrified. I can't lose you again_. "All I'm saying is you vanish like that again, I'm not looking for you." 

 

"Sure you won't." 

 

He couldn't be totally honest. Not like this, it revealed too much and Dean knew he couldn't say anything more like that without Sam getting suspicious. So he kept those thoughts to himself. He needed Sam to stay and that meant he had to let things continue on like always. "I'm not." 

 

"So you got sidelined by a thirteen year old girl." 

 

"Shut up." 

 

~~~ 

 

The next few weeks passed quickly. Hunts, of course. Mostly normal, a few tougher gigs here and there, but nothing that separated the brothers or left one of them injured too badly. Nothing of consequence happened until Sam drug them to Chicago, finding an article about some man torn apart by what seemed like a wild animal. Upon arrival they found out another person, a girl, had died the same way less than a week earlier. 

 

Sam had been totally thrown seeing Meg in the bar while investigating the dead girl. Dean had seemed incredibly bothered by it, interrupting, a little awkward and twitching, even latching on to Meg's rant enough to ask him about it later, whether or not he was keeping Sam there against his will. It had surprised Sam that Dean seemed so caught up in it, like he thought Sam didn't really want to be there. He supposed that Dean probably only thought he was there to find the demon and that he'd be gone as soon as that was taken care of. 

 

Of course, that's what Sam had been saying for months. He just wanted to find Jess's killer, Mom's killer, that was all. It had been true. At first. But now... being back with Dean was better than Sam thought it would be. Maybe it helped that Dad wasn't there to order them around, an oppressive presence that kept them from being totally themselves all the time. Sam had always felt most comfortable around Dean, even more so when it was just the two of them and it was great spending so much time with him. It made him remember why leaving for college had been so hard. And so necessary. 

 

Sam had figured out that he was in love with Dean when he was sixteen years old. There had been this girl in some town they were doing a hunt in. Sam had been interested, kind of ridiculously so at first, but she had the hots for Dean. Despite his usual carelessness and obliviousness, especially when a pretty girl was around, Dean somehow realized Sam liked her and had completely ignored the girl's bold and shameless flirting. Sam had realized rather quickly that she wasn't worth his time or interest but the gesture by Dean to let Sammy have her when it would be so easy for him to just keep her to himself, especially since she wasn't even interested in Sam, had been so considerate and un-Deanlike it had left him stunned. Sam had realized that Dean would do absolutely anything for him, that no one would ever care about Sam as much and no one was as good as Dean. He was so kind and warm hearted once you got past the reckless bad-boy persona and his spiels about how selfish and immoral he was. You could see it in how much he loved his family, how loyal he was to Dad, how aware of and careful he was with Sammy. Sam loved that, loved Dean. 

 

At first he had just been content with the feeling. It took him months to realize that he wanted  _more_ than just to sit around quietly being in love with his brother and he knew that such feelings were wrong. He thought if he could just get away the feelings would go away too. He had thought about college already anyway, but now he had to go. It was the only way for him to let go of his feelings for his brother. He knew Dean would never hate him, would never turn him away or leave him, but he would look at him differently, if he looked at him at all. 

 

Sam knew his brother and he knew how he acted when he was uncomfortable or angry with someone. Avoided their eyes, shied away from their touches, talked stilted and only when necessary. Sam couldn't stand the idea that his relationship with his brother would turn into that, which it would if he let his feelings be known. He tried so hard to keep it to himself, but it just got harder and harder. All the nights in motels sharing a bed with Dean, so close. The adrenaline rush after hunts, the need to make sure Dean was alive, to touch him and be sure he was real. Spending hours alone together while their Dad took care of easier cases on his own or went off to do research. The  _want_ was so powerful, to kiss, to touch, to hold Dean close. It was too much and he couldn't handle it anymore. It was either out himself and ruin what he and Dean had, ruin their relationship as brothers and never be like they were, or leave. 

 

So he left. He remembered that night so clearly, had nightmares about it sometimes. He had seen the look on Dean's face, the utter devastation when Sam said he was leaving. After that he couldn't look at him anymore. He knew what Dean's eyes would look like. Sam knew everything about Dean's eyes and this time they would've been pleading desperately for Sam to stay. He knew that if he had looked at Dean he would have given up, would have stayed, and then it would have only been a matter of time before everything fell apart. So he kept his eyes fixed on Dad and walked out, never looking back.

 

Those following years had been good and bad. He had never forgotten about Dean, although his feelings had been pushed aside and ignored for so long that he was able to meet Jess, to fall in love with her. But it had only taken a couple of weeks with Dean for Sam to remember all of those feelings, the love, the admiration, the  _want_. But he still couldn't say anything, he couldn't ruin it. 

 

So the night they planned to follow Meg, to hopefully find the demon and take him out and Dean asked him if he was nervous Sam acted like he thought he should, just happy to finally be at the end of this path, finishing the hunt and finally being able to go back to his normal life. 

 

"God, can you imagine if we actually found that damn thing, that demon?"

 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." 

 

"I know, I'm just saying, what if we did? What if this whole thing were over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for month. Go back to school, just... be a person again." It was what Sam would say, not Sammy. Not the brother who wanted nothing more than to stay with his brother, to just say what he wanted and not worry about the consequences. 

 

"You wanna go back to school?" 

 

"Yeah, once we're done hunting the thing." 

 

"Huh."

 

Dean sounded surprised, though Sam wasn't sure why. He thought he had made it clear. What if he hadn't? What if Dean was getting suspicious? "Why, is there something wrong with that?" 

 

"No, no, it's great, good for you."

 

Sam had always known when Dean was lying. Sometimes he let Dean think he could trick Sam but he always knew, just played along when he knew it wasn't worth an argument. He wasn't sure if this was one of those times. "I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" 

 

"It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others, there's always gonna be something to hunt." It was a typical Dean answer, always focused on the hunt, on killing monsters and saving people. He hardly ever seemed to think about anything else. 

 

"Yeah, but there's gotta be something that you want for yourself."  _Like me._ Right, cause that was likely. Sam knew better. He didn't know why he was pushing, but it just seemed like there was something Dean wasn't saying and he had this unexplainable need to find out what it was, so he pushed even though he could see it was making his brother angry. 

 

Dean turned sharply and walked toward the other side of the room, voice rising in volume. "Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam!" There was so much raw honesty, so much pain, in Dean's voice that Sam was shocked, a flare of hope rising that he squashed so hard, so painfully, that his next words came out sharper than he intended. 

 

"Dude, what's your problem?"

 

Dean had turned away and strode over to the dresser against the wall. Now he braced his hands on it, his head hanging down so Sam couldn't see his face. He huffed out a bitter laugh. "Why do you think I drag you everywhere, huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you from Stanford in the first place?"

 

 _What? What is he getting at?_  "Cause Dad was in trouble."  _That has to be it, it couldn't be more. I can't hope for more than that, he was just worried about Dad and needed some help._ "Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom."  _Familial loyalty, that's all. It's not about me, I'm just reading into things because I want it to be more than that_. 

 

"Yes! That! But it's more than that, man!" 

 

Sam felt tension rising in the room, he felt like all the air was getting sucked out of the room, like time was stopping and waiting in anticipation. 

 

"You, and me... and Dad. We're supposed to be together again. Supposed to be a family again." 

 

Sam's heart fell. The little bit of hope he hadn't been able to quell died now. _See. It's just about family_. "Dean, we are a family. I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before." Time to play the family card, keep the conversation going like it should. This wasn't about Sam, this wasn't about anything more than Dean wanting his family around. 

 

Sam watched Dean swallow hard, and then again before speaking, like his throat hurt. "Could be." 

 

Sam nodded. He knew better, though. He knew things would never be like they were before. His feelings for Dean complicated things too much. He would never be as open and comfortable and honest with Dean as he was before because now he had something to hide. It looked like their relationship was going to fall apart regardless of what Sam did. "I don't want them to be."  _I want more! I want_  _you!_    


 

Sam meant the words to come out hard, convicted. Meant to go on and tell Dean that he wasn't going to continue on with hunting, that Dean was going to have to let him go. But, instead, the words came out quiet, nearly a whisper, and so desperate and full of longing and pain Sam hardly recognized his own voice. His pain over the whole situation, this conversation, knowing he was killing and walking away from whatever smallest chance he might have had to turn things into more, had bled over into his voice and it had thrown him enough to keep him from going on and saying that he really was going to go back to his normal life. He couldn't get himself to say it, the sadness lingering. 

 

Dean turned to look at him, face guarded but his eyes surprised. 

 

"...What?" 

 

Sam swallowed around the lump forming in his throat, pressing his shaking hands to his legs, looking down at the floor, unable to meet Dean's eyes. "I... I don't want things to be like they've always been. I don't want that." 

 

"Why not? Because you want your perfect little normal life? With a law degree and a picket fence and two point five kids?" Dean started pacing back and forth, arms flailing and voice rising in agitation. "Because you want to leave? Is it too much trouble dealing with Dad and I?" 

 

"No, Dean, that's not it." Sam tried to explain but Dean didn't seem to hear, just kept on talking. 

 

"What am I doing wrong, Sammy? I thought we were good. I thought you liked hunting, liked being with your family again. I know I'm kind of an asshole sometimes but I thought I was doing okay, not pissing you off as much, helping you out and whatever. I thought you were okay with how things are now. I know Stanford was a big deal but after Jess I figured you wouldn't want that normal life anymore, that you would know you have to keep hunting, to protect people, that this is the kind of life you were going to live. You haven't even talked about her in weeks, I thought... I thought maybe you were..." 

 

"Thought I was what?" 

 

"Happy. With me." Dean's anger, his shouting had gradually died down and the last two words had been whispered so quietly Sam wasn't sure he had even heard them. 

 

"Dean?" Sam looked down and saw Dean's hands shaking.

 

Dean huffed softly to himself before slowly lifting up his head and looking at Sam. "Too much to hope for, right? I'm selfish, Sammy. Always wanting more than I can have." 

 

"Dean, what are you talking about?" Same felt his heart rate picking up, nervous hope filling up his chest.  _Could he really mean that like I want him to mean?_  

 

Suddenly, Dean turned around, facing away, his head bowed over. "I, uh... Sam, you're probably gonna hate me for this but I gotta say it." 

 

"Dean, I could never hate you. God, sometimes I wish I could, it would make things easier, but I couldn't." 

 

"Uh... yeah. Right." Dean turned back around but avoided Sam's eyes, his own darting around, only focusing on something for a moment before flitting away. "So, here's the thing. I... Well... It kind of started a long time ago. Well, I'm not actually sure when it started. Probably way before I figured it out, cause, well you know how oblivious I am sometimes. Dad's always telling me I'm not the best at thinking things through and I usually don't agree, but this time I think he might be right." 

 

"Dean, you're not making any sense." 

 

Dean stopped looking all over the room and tilted his face down toward the floor. "Right. I suck at long explanations. Guess I'll just say it then." He took a deep breath and turned his head up, looking Sam straight in the eye with steely intention. "I'm in love with you, Sam. For a long time. Years. I didn't figure it out until you left for Stanford but I know it had been there for awhile already. And I know it's disgusting and wrong and you probably won't want anything to do with me anymore. But we gotta finish this Sam. So just... We'll find this demon and kill it and then you can go. I won't stop you and I won't try to... I won't act weird or anything. You don't even have to talk to me if you don't want to. I... I wish you would stay but I know that would be weird now that you know that I- ... So, yeah." 

 

Sam was too stunned to do more than stare blankly.  _Dean... loves me?_ He had hardly heard anything after those words, still too awestruck and hopeful to process anything else. He just stood there, face devoid of emotion, trying to think, trying to wrap his brain around the idea that he wasn't the only one who felt this way. 

 

"...Sam? You in there?" 

 

"What?" 

 

"...Uh, yeah. Maybe this won't work. I think I should leave." Dean turned and started grabbing his bag, pulling his shoes on. 

 

"What? Wait, Dean, no! Don't go!" 

 

"I think I should, Sam. You obviously aren't taking this well. I knew you probably wouldn't. It's not exactly normal for a brother to feel like I do about you and I'm sure you're feeling pretty uncomfortable with it, so I'll get another room, we'll sleep separately and whatever until this demon is dead. I'll come by and get you when it's time to go." 

 

"No, Dean! Just stop. You can't just say something like that and leave without letting me say anything." 

 

"It's for the best, Sam. I'm sure you got stuff you want to say, but I'm really not sure I want to hear it. I've got a pretty good idea of what it would be anyway." Dean was standing in front of the door by this time, bag hanging off his shoulder, ready to leave any second, though his hand hadn't reached for the door yet. 

 

"You don't know what I would say." 

 

"I do, Sam, because I know you." 

 

"No, you really don't." 

 

"Yeah, I really do! Dean turned around at this, dropping his bag to the floor and glaring with anger. "You're gonna tell me it's sick and wrong and that we're probably just spending too much time together and that's why I think I feel this way. That we just need to be apart for awhile and it will go away. But it's not gonna go away, I spent  _years_ away from you and it didn't go away so why would it now? This isn't some stupid crush, okay? I'm in love with you, Sammy, I love you so much I can hardly breathe sometimes! So I really,  _really_ don't want to hear you say any of that." 

 

Sam smiled, heart soaring at the words, breathe catching when he heard Dean say he loved him again. "No, Dean. You really don't know what I was planning on saying." With that, Sam leaned forward, one hand reaching up to cup the back of Dean's neck, the other grasping his hip tightly, holding his brother in place. And then he kissed him. 

 

He kept it brief, knowing Dean would need a moment to process, so Sam pulled back a few inches, still in the man's breathing space, but far enough away to look in his eyes. "Dean. You're not the only one in love with his brother." 

 

Dean had stood stock still from the moment Sam had reached for him and now stared up at Sam with pure unadulterated shock, eyes wide and lips parted. It took whole moments for what Sam had done and said to sink in; Sam watched the emotions, the realization play across Dean's face so slow and gradual. Finally Dean found his voice. 

 

"Sam?" 

 

"Yeah, Dean?" 

 

"You mean that? Cause this is your last chance to back out. You can't change your mind later, saying it's wrong or shit like that. You say you want this and you're stuck with me. Cause... I can't let you go again, it'll kill me." 

 

"I love you, Dean. I'm not going anywhere." 

 

Dean surged forward, hands reaching up to twist into Sam's hair and tug his head down. Their lips met, hot and fiery, sliding slick and wet over each other. Both of them were starving for the other, years of denial and desperate longing unfulfilled. They had both wanted for so long and thought they would never  _get_ and now they were devouring one another like it was the only chance they would get, maybe still a little afraid the other would back off, even now. 

 

Sam's hands were moving frantically over Dean's back and shoulders and hips, grasping, pulling, stroking. He couldn't get enough of touching Dean, couldn't pull his hands away. He finally had Dean in his arms and he wasn't going to let go. Dean's hands were in his hair, on his neck, tight but still, as if he were trying to make sure Sam would stay, that he wouldn't go anywhere. The two of them kissed like they fought, fierce and frenetic. Sam pushed his tongue forward into the other man's mouth, needing more, desperate for any contact with Dean. Dean gave back just as much, seemingly just as needy, to know that Sam wasn't just doing this for now, that he wasn't going to leave anymore. His own tongue slid over Sams, stroking it and sucking, pulling Sam in and Sam followed, wishing he could just crawl inside Dean and stay there, partially to prove that he wasn't going to leave and partially because he just wanted to be close to Dean. He couldn't stand the idea of being away any more than Dean could. After all, he had been the one to leave before and he never wanted to feel that pain again, never wanted to have to bury away his feelings for his brother. He finally had him in his arms like he had wanted for so long; he wasn't letting go now, not ever. 

 

Eventually the kiss slowed down, losing its frantic edge and Sam pulled back. He reached his hands up and cupped Dean's face, forcing him to look into his eyes. He spoke the words again, more gently this time, more like a reassurance and comfort than the promise it had been the first time. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. With you. Okay?" 

 

Dean took a deep breath. "Okay. Yeah." 

 

Sam leaned down, brushing their lips together again. "This isn't how I thought the night was going to go." 

 

Dean laughed. "Yeah. Me neither. We, uh. I know we have a hunt to go on, but..." 

 

"Afraid to break the moment?" 

 

Dean huffed. "Yeah. You're not... You're really not gonna change your mind later? I mean, this isn't some heat of the moment thing that you'll back out of once you've had the chance to cool down and think about it?" 

 

"Dean, I've felt this way since I was sixteen. If I haven't changed my mind yet I'm not going to in the next five hours." 

 

"Yeah. Okay. Wow, six years Sammy?" 

 

Sam laughed a little, kind of a sad sound. "Yeah, something like that." He slid his hands off of Dean's face and grabbed his hips, pulling the man close and burying his face into his neck. "We should probably go. If we don't want to miss Meg leaving." 

 

"Yeah, I guess we should." Dean's hands had been holding Sam's ribcage, but with one last squeeze he pulled back and bent to pick up his duffle. Sam walked back to the bed and grabbed his own stuff, pulling his shoes on and sliding his jacket over his shoulders. There was still some stuff laying on the bed so he took the time to pack it all up. By the time he looked up Dean was watching him with fond amusement. 

 

"You ready Princess or should I call the maid to help?" 

 

"Yeah, whatever. Jerk." Sam had paused for a moment before saying the last bit, not quite sure it was safe for that much teasing, but he wanted Dean to know that their relationship didn't really have to change that much because of all this. Dean didn't need to turn into some guy who talked about his feelings all the time. They could still be themselves, jabs and sarcasm included. 

 

Dean looked back at Sam and grinned. "Bitch." The two of them walked out of the motel room, locking the door behind them, but Sam heard Dean speak softly as they walked toward the Impala. "Love you, Sammy." Well, maybe that wouldn't be the same either. 

**Author's Note:**

> I make no promises about when the next one will be up. I do have all the notes I need to write it so it could be up by the end of the week. I'm feeling more enthusiastic about this series than I am about the other fic I am in the process of writing. So... we'll see.


End file.
